DESCRIPTION The interface between clinical endocrinology and basic science experimentation is critical for advancing our understanding of cell biology and human disease. This National Institutes of Health (NIH) training program, which has been in existence since 1956, has been substantially reorganized to accommodate the dramatic growth in basic science pre-doctoral programs and to incorporate the scientific opportunities provided by the recent recruitment of a number of new faculty to the Division of Endocrinology. The primary objective of this training program is to provide intensive and scholarly pre-and post-doctoral research training in endocrinology to highly qualified graduate students, M.D.s, and Ph.D.s. In addition to traditional strengths in Diabetes and Metabolism, the new training faculty provide broad-based expertise in molecular endocrinology and cellular signalling pathways. This closely-knit faculty group is drawn from basic science and clinical departments and is comprised largely of well-funded senior faculty with extensive training experience. This program will provide a unique training environment in which in M.D. trainees with a strongly disease-oriented perspective will be exposed to research training in the latest methods of basic and clinical research. In parallel, graduate students and Ph.D. trainees will be exposed to physiological models and endocrine diseases in an effort to enhance the translation of basic science research into the clinical arena. There is an extensive repertoire of structured data sessions, journal clubs, seminars, and symposia that are designed to complement and enhance the research experience. A major objective of this training period is to invigorate young trainees and guide them through carefully orchestrated research projects that involve the formation of creative hypotheses, well-defined experimental plans, critical data analysis, and experience in writing and presenting research results. Their training will be derived not only from intensive tutoring by their primary preceptor, but also from frequent and organized interactions with other program faculty who are working in related areas. Trainees will be encouraged to develop as independent scholars with a goal of seeking and maintaining a successful career in investigative endocrinology.